I had just RMA'ed back to Amazon my BenQ W1070 and was going to jump the fence and pick up the HD25 only to learn it has been discountinued for the HD25e. Read the spammy (although the review was informative; now I know the differences between the HD25 and HD25e) review on Amazon for the HD25e, was just about to pull the trigger, and noticed a related product listed in the banner below for the HD131xe. If I remember correctly, "Wasn't this only available in Europe?" Seems this "e" suffixed version is an improved upon version from the HD131x as well and will be available in the US this time. I remember reading a cool thing about the HD131x was that it was basically the HD25 but in black and less expensive (and sans a pair of glasses which you didn't get with the HD25 in the US anyway). And a black projector > White projector IMO.

The HD131xe seems to have lower specs (by a hair: 2500 lumens vs 2800 and 18k:1 CR to 20k:1 CR) than the HD25e, but at significantly lower price. Add to that the fact that is cased in black and this may just be the to be the new Budget King projector to get!

Excellent find! For $200 less than the HD25e, I think im going for this. Amazon has a 2-5week ship time, but looks to have the lowest price on it. $760 for an Entry level 1080p projector with the option to have great 3D seems like a huge bargain!

The actual difference in lumens/CR might be much less, since these pjs are usually nowhere close to their advertised ratings.

Excellent find! For $200 less than the HD25e, I think im going for this. Amazon has a 2-5week ship time, but looks to have the lowest price on it. $760 for an Entry level 1080p projector with the option to have great 3D seems like a huge bargain!

The actual difference in lumens/CR might be much less, since these pjs are usually nowhere close to their advertised ratings.

I suspect this is a pre-order, hence the 2-5 week shipping time. Placed an order for mine last night as well. Can't wait!

Also, since I had some time with the W1070, I will be able to compare the two when I get the HD131Xe.

Preordered mine as well. Just couldn't pass up the price. Thanks again! There is always a bang/buck king every few years and I think this will be it. This is in 720p projector pricing territory... hell it is cheaper than the Qumi Q7 / Acer K335 / 1000 Lumen WXGA LED Clones that are all about to come out. Optoma has a very good track record, so im willing to take the risk of being an early adopter on this.

My previous projector is a Viewsonic PLED-W500, 8000:1 / 500 Lumens, so this is going to be a tremendous upgrade for me like night and day. I figure in 2-3 years when I have upgraditis again, it will be easier to upgrade from the HD131Xe to get something better. Not to mention that depreciation on this will probably be better than say the HD-25LV that goes for $1200 in 2-3 years

I'm in the market for a $1000 projector for my basement and was dead set on the W1070. Hell the only reason I hadnt pulled the trigger is because Im still researching A/V equipment to accompany it.

Now that this has been announced/released. And is a year newer + $200 cheaper. I'll wait to see a 131xe vs W1070 shootout before deciding.

I cant wait for someone to post their thoughts, findings and review.

Are there any professional reviews of the 131xe online yet?

Personally, I RMA'ed the W1070. I just could not live with the lack of shadow detail. And I have seen footage of the HD25 and W1070; the HD25 seemed to handle shadow detail better. I was just about to buy the HD25 until I ran into this. I'll let you know how the compare once I get the HD131Xe.

No pro reviews out yet, product hasn't quite hit the market yet. But I suspect it has the same engine as HD25e, they just tweaked the specs. Here is this spammy review I was talking about. Notice how he mentions the HD25 and HD25-LV had the same engine and bulb but the HD25-LV was brighter? Could be the same deal with the HD25e and HD131Xe.

Preordered mine as well. Just couldn't pass up the price. Thanks again! There is always a bang/buck king every few years and I think this will be it. This is in 720p projector pricing territory... hell it is cheaper than the Qumi Q7 / Acer K335 / 1000 Lumen WXGA LED Clones that are all about to come out. Optoma has a very good track record, so im willing to take the risk of being an early adopter on this.

My previous projector is a Viewsonic PLED-W500, 8000:1 / 500 Lumens, so this is going to be a tremendous upgrade for me like night and day. I figure in 2-3 years when I have upgraditis again, it will be easier to upgrade from the HD131Xe to get something better. Not to mention that depreciation on this will probably be better than say the HD-25LV that goes for $1200 in 2-3 years

Same here. I couldn't pass up on the price. This will be my secondary projector for the system.

It's pretty much the same projector as the Optoma HD25, but a little brighter. I would look at HD25 reviews.

How do you know that? I'm comparing specs at projectorcentral ... doesn't look like the same PJ to me.

** Also, for those who are amateurs like me, the price at amazon is nothing special. J and R has it for the same price. I hate it when Amazon says the price is 50% off but it's really just the same price others are selling it for. **

How do you know that? I'm comparing specs at projectorcentral ... doesn't look like the same PJ to me.

** Also, for those who are amateurs like me, the price at amazon is nothing special. J and R has it for the same price. I hate it when Amazon says the price is 50% off but it's really just the same price others are selling it for. **

I have the HD25e which is very close in specs to the HD131Xe (but the HD131Xe is $200 less in price). The HD25e has 300 more lumens and a slightly better contrast ratio (on paper) and is black. Don't see any other difference but must be something to account for the price difference. I'm happy with the brightness running the lamp in Eco (even in 3D) and shadow detail on mine. Blacks look good also in my light controlled room. I've had 3 other DLP projectors and this one has the best color I've seen so far. They both use the same lamp and replacement is less than $200 which is also is a plus.

Does anyone know for certain that this is essentially a HD25e? With the non e models, the published specs were identical. Additionally, in Europe where the HD131x was only released, most people accounted for the difference because the HD25 included the 3D glasses. From what I could tell in the instruction manuals, the menus are identical between them (FWIW).

As far as the internal parts, do both use the same color wheel, etc? Is this pj really more of an attempt by optoma to capture some of the budget conscious enthusiast market that might be tempted by other brands, but they did not want to risk loosing the margin of those that are less savy?

I got in on the Amazon deal and am now having second thoughts that I may have purchased something I know nothing about.

worst comes to worst, say it didn't meet your expectations and return it. I believe Amazon has a 30-day policy, you pay shipping
Willing to take the risk for $200 less than the HD25e and -10% paper specs

Amazon deal is dead though, up to $939 now lol! Mind as well get HD25e for that price

It likely is, but we can only speculate until we get an opportunity to compare the two. Optoma did this with the last round of projectors too. Remember the HD25 and HD25-LV use the same DC3 chip, use the same bulb, consume the same amount of power, but one has more lumens then the other and costs a bit more. But since you bought it from Amazon, you have nothing to worry about.

I intend to shelf-mount this PJ at about the same height of a ceiling mount, so the PJ will be right side up instead of upside down. Will this be a problem? The calculator page on projectorcentral shows the PJ upside down. I hope this is not a requirement, or else this PJ might not work for me.

I intend to shelf-mount this PJ at about the same height of a ceiling mount, so the PJ will be right side up instead of upside down. Will this be a problem? The calculator page on projectorcentral shows the PJ upside down. I hope this is not a requirement, or else this PJ might not work for me.

Seems like a problem. On its feet, it's 12 inches from center of lens to bottom of image. Unless it has some major lens shift, it's not going to happen that way unless you shelf mount it upside down using some foam or rubber wedges.

I intend to shelf-mount this PJ at about the same height of a ceiling mount, so the PJ will be right side up instead of upside down. Will this be a problem? The calculator page on projectorcentral shows the PJ upside down. I hope this is not a requirement, or else this PJ might not work for me.

It going to be a problem, compounded by the fact there is no lens shift and offset for this projector. Doesn't mean it wont work for you though. You can mount it upside down under your shelf can't you? Get one of these mounts to accomplish the task. Just fashion a wood mounting plate, so that you can fix to your projector so you can screw that mount to accomplish the task.

With that said, expected delivery date for this projector is Tuesday the 13th. Can't wait!

Seems like a problem. On its feet, it's 12 inches from center of lens to bottom of image. Unless it has some major lens shift, it's not going to happen that way unless you shelf mount it upside down using some foam or rubber wedges.

Quote:

Originally Posted by niggenz

It going to be a problem, compounded by the fact there is no lens shift and offset for this projector. Doesn't mean it wont work for you though. You can mount it upside down under your shelf can't you? Get one of these mounts to accomplish the task. Just fashion a wood mounting plate, so that you can fix to your projector so you can screw that mount to accomplish the task.

With that said, expected delivery date for this projector is Tuesday the 13th. Can't wait!

Based on what you two are saying, this is completely the wrong projector for me ... (sigh) for several reasons:

1. I really don't want to ceiling mount.
2. Although I said the wall mount will be about the same height, what I meant is the wall mount will be about 12-18 inches lower. (to me that's about the same lol)
3. Compound that with the fact that it's 12 inches from the center of the lens to the bottom of the image.
4. That's bad for me because my wall has wood trim (similar to this), which leave me only 63 inches of wall height for the screen. Because of that, I intend to have the top of the screen flush with the wall/ceiling border. So, the "12 inches from the center of the lens to the bottom of the image" is a real deal killer. I need a projector that can shoot straight or at least not have such a drastic angle.
5. Besides all this, I wanted to have a 120-inch screen, but at only 13 feet from PJ to wall, it looks like I can only get 106 inches. I was going to compromise on size, but with all these other barriers, oh well. Guess I still have to keep looking for a projector.

So there are conflicting posts on the offset. How far above the center of the lens is the picture? For this projector to work for me it needs to be close to zero as I have a very low ceiling in the basement.

So there are conflicting posts on the offset. How far above the center of the lens is the picture? For this projector to work for me it needs to be close to zero as I have a very low ceiling in the basement.

On Optoma's website, they use Projectors Central distance calculator and it shows 12" for ceiling and floor mounting.

So there are conflicting posts on the offset. How far above the center of the lens is the picture? For this projector to work for me it needs to be close to zero as I have a very low ceiling in the basement.

Via Projector Central - it has 16% lens offset. So, with a 50" tall image, that's about 8" of offset.

No lens shift shown and fairly typical 1.5-1.8:1 zoom ratio. So, careful projector placement is a requirement. Flush mount to an 8' ceiling and you are good to go. 7' ceiling get tough and higher ceilings will need an extension.

Still, seems like it could be a great value if the price holds low. I got my W1070 for $800 when it first came out, so I think that really is a price point to strive for.

It arrived on my doorstep 20 minutes ago. I'm watching T2 on it right now. Everything looks quite lovely. None of the dissappointment i experienced when I unboxed the W1070 and initially played with it. Plenty of light sifting through my windows but still a very watchable image. There is offset for you guys out there that are concerned a out this. Its sitting on my coffee table which is about knee high and projecting to my wall 12ft away where the screen edge is somewhere mid-thigh. I reallly dont know why Optoma does this. I suppose it helps those that coffee table mount their projectors but offset in this situation can easily be accomplished by stacking the projector on top of something. Really hurts us ceiling mount guys.

I'll add more to this as the sun goes down. Here is a sunwashed snapshot in my unfinished room for now. Pretty excited right now!!

I was just about to order an Optoma HD33 that is factory refurbished for about $875.00. Then, I came across the HD131Xe model on the internet, and it looks very promising . Hope to hear ALOT more from buyers soon. Would love to hear from someone that currently owns an HD33 and get a direct comparison between the two models. Brand new, and with 3D, which it important to me, and still, cheaper that the refurbished HD33, WOW ! ! ! Would love to hear about, 3D performance, black levels, and fine detail in the picture. Not sure how long I can wait, lol, but, I do want to hear more about it from actual buyers.